


The Beauty of Clichés

by abswrites



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Post-Time Skip, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26576638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abswrites/pseuds/abswrites
Summary: Your best friend recently wrote a shoujo manga. Is it just you, or do the characters seem a little familiar?
Relationships: Tanaka Saeko/Tsukishima Akiteru, Udai Tenma/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	The Beauty of Clichés

“There’s my favorite little giant!” you announce, stepping into the small café. Your eyes fall on your best friend, sitting at a table with two coffees in front of him. Without even trying yours, you already know that he ordered it exactly how you like it.

“How many other little giants do you know?” Tenma asks, laughing.

You sigh, rolling your eyes playfully. “Okay, fine, you win by default. But whatever, I’m just happy to see you,” you tell him, falling into the seat opposite him. Your heart skips a beat as you notice the blush on his face.

Looking at Tenma from across the table, you couldn’t recall a time when you weren’t in love with him. You had first met him back when you were kids, and he had moved into the house next door to yours. You two had clicked immediately, proceeding to spend all your time together over the next few years. Luckily, your friendship had managed to stay just as strong after college as well, and you made it a point to meet up often to catch up.

“How’s that project at work coming?” he asks, taking a sip of his coffee. “You mentioned it last time.”

“Oh no, absolutely not!” You cut him off. “You can’t distract me this time.”

He blinks at you, confused. “What?”

“Every time we meet up, I ask you about the new manga you’re working on, and you never give me any details! How can I be your biggest fan if I don’t even know what you’re writing?”

“Um…I don’t know.” He looks away, rubbing his neck. “I haven’t really told anyone about it yet, you know? I’m still kind of hesitant about the premise and stuff.”

“Come on, Tenma! Who can you tell if not me, your best and closest friend?” you plead, giving him your best puppy dog eyes. “I’d never make fun of you!”

Tenma sighs, relenting. “Okay, fine. You know how I published Zombie Knight Zom'bish last year?”

You nod, thinking back. Man, you really had gone all out to support him that time. As soon as he had texted you that his manga was available, you had raced to the nearest bookstore, where you promptly proceeded to buy every single copy there, sacrificing an entire month’s paycheck in the process. Saeko had teased you relentlessly for that, but it was completely worth it to see the look on his face when he found out.

“Well, I wanted to try something different after that, so this new one is a shoujo,” he explains.

“Oh? What made you choose that?” you inquire. Zombie Knight Zom'bish was incredible, of course, but to be fair, it was quite bloody. A shoujo manga was the complete opposite.

Tenma turns his head, avoiding your eyes. “Um…let’s just say I had a lot of inspiration,” he mumbles.

Your heart sinks. He’s got someone he likes. Of course he does. Not only is he the nicest guy you know, but he’s also cute as hell. And to be fair, he’s kind of loaded after his last manga sold so well. He’s probably got tons of girls lined up for a chance with him, and it sounds like he likes one of them enough to write a whole manga about her.

Swallowing down the lump in your throat, you finish off your coffee. Tenma’s your best friend, you remind yourself. It’s your job to support him, no matter what. “I gotta make sure that I’m the first one to buy a copy! It’s my duty as your number one fan, after all.”

He chuckles. “I would tell you that you don’t have to do that,” he begins, “but I know it’s impossible to stop you.”

“Do you know when it’ll be out?” you press.

“Uh…not yet. My editor still thinks it’ll be a while until the drafts are finalized.”

“Don’t panic! I’m sure it’s gonna be terrific.”

He smiles and looks down, noticing your empty cup. “Do you want me to get you another coffee?”

Aw, he really is the sweetest. “No, that’s ok! I should get going anyways, I have a meeting for work.”

He nods, and you both stand, walking out of the café. Just as you’re about to turn and walk to your car, you feel a hand grab your wrist gently.

“Tenma? What’s up?” you question, looking back at him.

He’s blushing, looking at the ground to avoid meeting your eyes. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“For always being there for me.”

God, that’s about as much as you can take. Your heart feels like it’s going to explode, and you can feel tears burning at your eyes. You lunge at him and grab him in a hug, hiding your face in his chest. “Of course I’m always gonna be here for you, dummy! That’s what friends are for.”

You don’t see the look of frustration on his face.

* * *

Along with keeping in touch with Tenma, you also made an effort to regularly meet up with all your friends from high school. This was what found you on Akiteru and Saeko’s doorstep one evening.

You had first met Akiteru in high school, when you had gone to watch Tenma’s volleyball practices. The three of you had hung out often back then. After you all had graduated, Akiteru had started dating Saeko, with whom you clicked immediately. No matter how busy you were, you always found time to drink and gossip with her. It was during one of these gossip sessions that you had inadvertently revealed your crush on Tenma, and then proceeded to swear her to secrecy.

Before you even had a chance to knock, Saeko yanked the door open. “Hey, you made it!” she called, enthusiastic as ever. “We haven’t talked in forever.”

“Saeko, I saw you last week,” you chuckle, stepping inside to give her a hug.

“That’s too long ago,” she grumbles good-naturedly.

“Saeko-chan, stop hogging her,” Akiteru scolds from inside the house. He walks out to give you a hug as well.

“Ah, Akiteru, I see you’re still the voice of reason in this relationship,” you tease.

“If you’re gonna be this mean to me, I need a drink,” Saeko groans, walking into the kitchen.

“Get me one too!” you call. Turning back to Akiteru, you’re surprised by the grim expression on his face. “Are you ok?”

He turns, leading you to the living room. “Okay, I have to be honest about something,” he says, taking a seat on the couch.

“What’s up?” You plop down next to him.

“Saeko and I invited you over because we have something to tell you.”

“It’s about Tenma,” Saeko adds, walking in holding two glasses of wine.

“Oh my god, is this some kind of intervention?” Without waiting for an answer, you grab a glass from Saeko’s hand and immediately proceed to chug half of it. You definitely need some alcohol in your system to talk about your lifelong crush.

"There’s something that you should know. Tenma asked us to keep it a secret because he didn’t know how to tell you, but we didn’t think that was fair to you,” Akiteru begins.

“Well, Akiteru thought so. I just wanted an excuse to meddle with my best friends’ lives!” Saeko declares proudly. “What exactly has he told you about his newest manga?”

“Uh, not much. Just that it’s a shoujo and that he doesn’t know when it’s gonna be out." Akiteru and Saeko exchange a look. “Okay, do you guys wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“Don’t freak out!” Akiteru pleads. “But his manga already came out.”

“Wait, what?” Out of all the things that could have come out of his mouth, you were not expecting that. You recoil in confusion. “He lied to me?”

“He had a good reason, I promise!” Saeko jumps in. “Before you get mad, I think you should read it first.”

“Hold on a second,” Akiteru says, walking into the bedroom. He comes back holding a book, which he hands to you.

“Is this his?” you ask hesitantly, tracing your hand over the cover.

“Yeah.” Akiteru grabs Saeko’s hand, dragging her out of the room. “We’ll give you some privacy to read it.”

* * *

To be fair, you’re not very well-versed in the intricacies of manga, but this one seems to start the same as any other shoujo. The main character has a crush on the girl who lives next door to him. Okay, so a childhood friends to lovers’ story. So far, nothing stands out to you.

In school, the protagonist proceeds to join the soccer team. Interesting, there seems to be a sports-related side story. He seems to be excelling at the sport, until one day when he gets benched during a practice match. As you read, your breath catches in your throat. Wait a minute. This story seems a bit too familiar.

Back in high school, there was a time when Tenma had come to your window with tears streaming down his face. You had let him in and held him while he had opened up to you about his struggles on the volleyball team. 

You turn back to the beginning of the manga, looking over it with fresh eyes. Now that you’re looking, you notice that every interaction between the characters seems to mirror an experience you shared with Tenma. That time when you were kids and you had forced him to play dress-up with you. That time in high school when he was sick and you had skipped school to take care of him. That time in college when your boyfriend had cheated on you and Tenma had come over at three in the morning with all your favorite snacks.

Was it possible that the entire time you’d been in love with him, he felt the same way? Earlier when he was telling you about his inspiration, he was actually talking about…you? “Oh my god,” you mutter to yourself. “This cannot be happening.”

Getting up off the couch, you rush down the hall and jerk open the bedroom door. Akiteru and Saeko look at you, concerned. “Hey, are you alright?” Akiteru asks.

“I need to go see him.”

They exchange a look. “Are you sure?” Saeko says. “It’s pretty late, and you’ve been drinking.”

“I don’t care,” you insist. “I need to talk to him.”

“Okay, we’ll take you.” Saeko grabs your wrist and pulls you down the hall, while Akiteru grabs his keys.

They really are the best friends you could ask for.

* * *

Despite Saeko’s attempts to chat with you on the way, you spend the entire car ride lost in your thoughts. Truth be told, you have absolutely no idea what you’re going to say to Tenma. All you know is that you really need to talk to him, at least to confirm whether or not your suspicions are true.

“Okay,” Akiteru says, pulling into Tenma’s driveway. “Do you want us to come with you?”

You shake your head. “I need to do this alone. Thank you for telling me about the manga, and for bringing me here.”

"No problem!” Saeko exclaims cheerily. “Just do me a favor and don’t tell Tenma that we were the ones who told you! He’s kind of scary when he’s mad.”

“Will do,” you laugh, getting out of the car. As you walk up to the front door, it occurs to you that this isn’t exactly one of your smarter plans. You have no idea what to say, he might be sleeping, and you’re not exactly sober. Ah, screw it. Taking a deep breath to ignore your embarrassment, you knock on the door.

When he opens the door, the sight of him all sleep rumpled is so adorable that it immediately wipes out any thoughts in your head. “Uh…hey?” he says, looking confused. “What’s up?”

“I read your manga,” you say sheepishly.

“Oh my god.” Now it’s his turn to look embarrassed.

“Can I come in? We should probably talk.”

Wordlessly Tenma steps aside, allowing you in. He opens his mouth to speak, but you cut him off. “Was it true?”

He looks taken aback. “Was what true?”

“Everything you wrote. Am I your inspiration?”

He drops his face into his hands, and you can see his shoulders shake. Oh no. You’re so stupid. You must have misinterpreted everything, and now you’ve ruined your friendship and he’s going to hate you – wait, is he _laughing_?

“Of course, you idiot!” he exclaims. “I’ve been in love with you for years.”

“Oh.” You step closer and slump onto him, hiding your face in his chest. “I guess now is a good time to tell you that I’ve been in love with you for years too.”

“Wait—what?” He laughs again, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you closer. “I guess we’re both idiots then.”

You want to be insulted, but he’s right. Silently, you resolve to yourself to not keep any more secrets from him.

“Well then, why don’t you stop being an idiot and kiss your new girlfriend?” you say with a smirk.

Amused, he leans in to do so. But just before his lips are about to meet yours, he jerks back. “Wait, who even told you about my manga?”

You chuckle and pull him closer to kiss him. Maybe keeping one more secret from him wouldn’t hurt.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! come chat with me on [tumblr](https://abswrites.tumblr.com/) :)


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